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Progressive Animal
Welfare Society
PO Box 1037
Lynnwood, WA 98046

An Osprey Beats the Oddsby Kevin Mack, PAWS Wildlife Naturalist

A little more than nine months ago, someone on the outskirts of
Puyallup was looking down the barrel of a gun. They had a bird in their
sights. She was a large, white bird with a dark back and wings. Just
below her neck was a dark-brown pattern of speckling that resembled a
necklace. She had an impressive hooked beak, and formidable talons on
her large feet. These weapons would afford her no protection against
the ill-intentioned primate whose eye she had caught. This was not a
bird that people hunt for food.

An Osprey is released on May 24th after 9 months of rehabilitation at the PAWS Wildlife Center.

This was not even a bird that is legal to hunt. It is apparent that
neither of these facts mattered to the individual that was taking
careful aim at the unsuspecting raptor. I know nothing about the person
or their motivations. I have no idea whether it was a man, woman, child
or adult. I only know the consequences of the choice they made that
day. With the mere twitch of a finger they stole nine months of a
female Osprey's life.

On August 12th, 2002 Osprey 02-3576 arrived at the PAWS Wildlife
center. She had been found near Puyallup on August 10th, stunned and
unable to fly. An area near the tip of her left wing was extremely
swollen and the feathers were covered in dried blood. A small hole
passing through the swollen part of the wing looked suspiciously like
the kind of penetrating wound that a bullet creates. The bright flecks
of metal (bullet fragments) that were visible on the Osprey's X-ray
films confirmed the suspicion. The films also confirmed that the digit

X-rays of the Osprey confirmed that her injuries were due to gunshot.

(equivalent to our finger bones, but fused and greatly reduced) at the
end of the bird's wing had been badly fractured. The fracture, in
conjunction with soft tissue damage and damage to the follicles of
several flight feathers, made the bird's chances for a full recovery
questionable at best. But there was something else on the X-ray that
indicated that this Osprey was a survivor, and she had apparently
already overcome a past wing injury on her own.

At some point in her past, Osprey 02-3576 fractured her right radius.
We'll never know how it happened, but as the radius is a relatively
thin bone at the leading edge of the wing, she likely fractured it by
flying into a wire or other immovable object. On the X-ray the now
healed fracture appeared to be fairly well aligned. A large bony callus
had formed at the fracture site, but this did not seem to impair the
movement or function of the wing in any way. It is difficult to imagine
that the Osprey was able to fly, let alone hunt with a wing injury of
this kind. Whether she managed on her own or had the help of a mate, we
will never know. All we know is that she healed and was apparently
doing well, that is until her unfortunate human encounter.

At PAWS Osprey 02-3576 once again exhibited her impressive healing
abilities. Within six weeks of admission her wounds had healed and the
fracture was completely stable. Her feathers now became the primary
concern. Feather shaft fragments were removed from the follicles that
had been damaged by the bullet to allow new feathers to grow in. It was
also necessary to pull other broken wing and tail feathers to stimulate
the growth of replacements. It took quite some time, but feathers did
eventually grow, even from the damaged follicles. As the feathers
finished growing, the Osprey was placed in a large flight pen to assess
whether or not she had developed any permanent impairment from her
injuries.

Once in the flight pen, the Osprey eliminated any doubt that her flight
abilities had been permanently damaged. She flew beautifully, even
though she still had several broken primaries that were in need of
replacement. Over the course of a few months she regained strength in
her flight muscles, and by mid-May she was ready for release.

Osprey 02-3576 leaps into the air at her May 24th release.

The only things left to attend to were the remaining broken primary
feathers, and these were repaired through a process known as "imping".
During the imping process the broken portions of feather on one bird
are replaced with unbroken portions of feather from another bird (See "Feather imping helps return a bird to the wild"
for more information). In this case the broken portions of Osprey
02-3576's feathers were replaced with unbroken feathers from a male
Osprey that had died a few days earlier at another rehabilitation
center. The imping took place on Friday May 23rd. Release came early
the following morning.

After 9 months of captivity, Osprey 02-3576 required a little prompting
to step out of her transport carrier. She likely expected to be
stepping back into one of the several cages she had known during her
time at PAWS. As she exited the carrier she seemed to recognize that
her situation had changed, but she wasn't immediately sure what to make
of it. The Puyallup River was about 20 feet away, and an old tree-lined
access road running parallel to the river stretched out before her. She
took a minute or two to assess her surroundings and she let out several
tentative calls. As I watched her, I wondered what could have possessed
someone to point a gun at her. I marveled at the fact that nine months
prior to this someone had looked at this beautiful animal and had seen
nothing more than a target.

The Osprey chose a direction and took flight. She headed straight down
the old road, and when she reached treetop height she abruptly turned
to the west, following the river. As she disappeared from view I hoped
that in the future she would only come into contact with humans who see
her for what she really is. An amazing being with an extremely strong
will to live.